Today is the release of the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings, following a month of action around the country. No major changes among the top-10, as familiar names fill out the order. WKA Manufacturers Cup Series, California ProKart Challenge, United States Pro Kart Series, and numerous regional programs from coast-to-coast have been added to the total, counting the best seven results for each driver over the past 12 months.

Remaining at the top of the order is SoCal driver Louie Pagano (Birel). The longtime national driver moved to the number one position for the first time last month, and continues to lead the way with the highest total. His points may be in jeopardy, as his karting future is uncertain. Behind him is 2012 US Rotax champion Daniel Formal (Tony Kart), who had an outstanding season last year. He carried it into the winter months, but has spent most of the recent months doing some driver coaching. Jumping back up into the mix is Texan Mason Chelootz (Top Kart). Dropping down to sixth last month, he’s moved back up to third after holding the number one position previously. Sam Beasley (Tony Kart), Phil DeLaO (Arrow) and Nick Neri (Tony Kart) each fell one position to complete the top-six.

One driver who may continue moving up as the season progresses is Jake Craig. Moving over to the ART GP America operation, he’s gathered three straight wins in California PKC competition. While his points increased, he remains seventh in the order. Jonathan Kotyk (Tony Kart) is back into the top-10, moving to eighth. His results from the WKA New Castle moved him up four spots. That pushed Andrew Palmer (Kosmic) and Tommy Andersen (Top Kart) down one position, with Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart) out of the top-10 for the first time in a few releases of the rankings.

Reaching the top position in the EKN Driver Rankings for the first time, Pagano remains the top driver this month. At the big events of the year, Pagano’s name is toward the top of the time sheets weekend after weekend. Years of hard work for Pagano has truly made him a strong talent behind the wheel, and is looking to see what he can do in stock car racing. His future behind a DPK/Birel machine is uncertain, but don’t count him out of making an appearance at the SKUSA SummerNationals in July or a Rotax event in the future.

Point Breakdown

Race

Rank

Finish

Points

SKUSA SuperNationals 2012

10

2

1127

Rotax COTA 2013 - Tucson #1

9

2

1032

Rotax COTA 2013 - Tucson #2

9

3

1022

Rotax COTA 2013 - PKRA #1

9

2

1048

Rotax COTA 2013 - PKRA #2

9

3

1035

SKUSA SpringNationals ’13 #1

9

2

1060

SKUSA SpringNationals ’13 #2

9

5

1021

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 2.71
Average Points: 1049.3
Total Points: 7345

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Kyle Kalish

TaG ‘On the Move’ - #40
Kyle Kalish
Wauconda, Illinois

It seems like just a few years ago many of the ‘rookie’ Senior drivers were racing Cadets. In reality it is, and now they are stacking their talents against the best in the sport. Kalish is among the top rookies in 2013, and he’s proving it on the track. This past weekend in New Castle for the USPKS event, he was among the short list of drivers that were able to run with double winner Ashley Rogero. He’s shown well at the WKA events, and the first national victory for this Merlin USA/Franklin Motorsport driver is just around the corner, just a question of when and what series it will be.

Point Breakdown

Race

Rank

Finish

Points

Route 66 Series 2012 #9

8

1

875

WKA Manufacturers Cup Series ’13 - IAME #2

8

3

939

USPKS 2013 - Pro #1

8

5

932

USPKS 2013 - Pro #2

8

8

882

WKA Manufacturers Cup Series ’13 - IAME #3

8

7

887

WKA Manufacturers Cup Series ’13 - IAME #4

8

6

981

USPKS 2013 - Pro #3

8

2

947

Inside the Stats
Average Finish: 4.57
Average Points: 920.4
Total Points: 6443

EKN Driver Rankings Calculation Process
The EKN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best finishes in major North American races. Assembled using events from the previous 12 months from the current date, we use a driver’s best seven finishes in TaG and six in Stock Moto to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver our ranking list, we tabulate the results of all the national programs and selected regional programs. We have included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix and the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.

Each race is initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of ten (10) being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2013, the SKUSA SuperNationals and US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting in the TaG category while the SuperNationals is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The SKUSA Pro Tour series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturers Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Rotax Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals, Rotax Pan American Challenge, United States Pro Kart Series and other regional program races were given a base ranking of either eight (8) or nine (9).

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. A minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program is five (5). If an event does not have at least five (5) drivers starting the race, those results will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.

Added to these initial rankings are two variables that help confirm the true importance of an event to the ranking process – field size and field strength. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, while the number of existing top 50 drivers entered offers another full point or fraction of a point. The sum of these numbers becomes the overall ranking for any race. Following a race, drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with 100 points earned for a win. Each subsequent position drops by one point with 99 points given to the second place driver and so on throughout the field. These points are then multiplied by the overall ranking to produce a driver’s final point total from each event. Using a driver’s best seven races in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.